So Many Chefs in the Kitchen!

The days are flying by at warp speed in our room. We are up to so many fun and exciting activities! The highlight of today was definitely our first cooking activity. Some of my many goals for this experience are the following:

• Expose the kids to foods and food combinations that they might not have experienced before.
• Create recipes with a minimal amount of ingredients, that are budget friendly.
• Create recipes that do not use the stove or oven, that the kids can make completely on their own.
  
• Create recipes that can be easily varied and changed to fit different tastes.
  

The kids had a great time making the recipe. Today we used tortillas, bananas, and grape/strawberry jelly. The kids recorded the recipe in their cooking journals, and we talked about how we could adjust the recipe to make it for more people. (Doubling, tripling, etc.) The best part was watching the students give the recipe a title based upon what they did with the jelly and banana covered tortilla. Some folded it in half and called it a taco. Some rolled it up into a log shape. Some ate it flat and called it pizza. Some cut the tortilla in half and made a sandwich. Others rolled the tortilla into a log and then cut it in small pieces like sushi. I was proud of the kids for trying everything...I think food tastes magically better when you make it yourself. We finished up the activity creating a variations on the original recipe. You had to use a tortilla, some kind of a spread and a topping. At your own risk, try some of our creations:-) YUM YUM!

• tortilla with vanilla pudding and banana slices rolled up
• tortilla pizza with peanut butter and apple slices
• a sweet dessert tortilla treat with a tortilla, whipped cream and chocolate chips
• breakfast tortilla with cream cheese and strawberries
• lunch tortilla with mayo or mustard and lunch meat

I posted some pictures of our "chefs" hard at work. Take a look. If you want to see cooking notebooks, the kids are always welcome to bring them home.

Homework for tonight: Today is Wednesday so nothing is assigned. However, if you find yourself with extra time, then I would suggest the following: Read for 20 minutes (I would focus on getting your mystery book done ASAP. Don't leave it all until the weekend before you need to be done), finish writing your mystery story if you didn't finish in class, work on your social studies task for your political party project if your group needs you to.

Happy Wednesday.